Page:Henry Stephens Salt - A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays.pdf/63

However, as Sir Henry Thompson has thought fit to challenge our position on this question of the use of eggs and dairy produce, it may be well to consider it more fully. It is quite a mistake to suppose, as he seems to imply, that Food Reformers use eggs and milk very largely as a substitute for flesh ; on the contrary, I believe that most of us use them sparingly and in moderation, believing, as Sir Henry Thompson himself remarks, that “for us who have long ago achieved our full growth, and can thrive on solid fare, milk is altogether superfluous and mostly mischievous as a drink.” Milk, as it has been well said, is “an excellent thing—for calves ;” and Food Reformers, for the most part, being well aware of this, are careful not to use dairy produce in the quantity mentioned by Sir Henry Thompson. But why, it may be asked, do they not renounce eggs and milk altogether, and thus establish an unequivocal claim to the title of Vegetarian ? To this it must be answered that the immediate object which Food Reformers aim at is not so much the disuse of animal substances in general, as the abolition of flesh-meat in particular ; and that if they can drive their opponents to make